Separable fastener



Aug. 19, 1952 G, WALDES 2,607,715

SEPARABLE FASTENER Filed May 4, 1950 l Inventor: GEORGE WALDES,

By w.

Attorney Patented Aug. 19, 1952 SEPARABLE FASTENER" George Waldes, Jackson Heights, N. Y., assignor to Waldes Kohinoor, Inc., Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 4,195o,seri'a1N0.1so,ns1

separable fasteners, such as slide fasteners and including also Vsnap .and hook-and-eye fasteners of theytype,Wherein'-the fastener elements are mountedon tapes,- are usually Iattached to, the articlewithWhich/they are to 'be incorporated bylstitching `lthe fastener-tapes to the edges of the opening'ofithe article tobe closed by the fastener. However, in thegcase of articles made from thermoplastic material," for example, raincoats, pouches, purses, etc.,A attachment of thetapes by stitching is objectionablebecause the stitching is likely-to' tear through the thermoplastic material due to its low "fstitch,strength,A resulting in insecure 4attachment and 'leaving unsightly openlngS- Several attempts have been made to overcome this drawback, among which may be noted the heat-sealing ofV a tape, itself made of thermoplasticl material ,similar to that from whichV the article is made; tosaidfarticlealong vthe edges ,of the opening,` but such have not proved successful, due to thefact 4that a tapemadefrom thermoplastic materiallis" inherently stretchable, and the use of a-v stretchable Vtape 'inl aseparable fastener, particularly; of the slider-controlled or zippertype, is-not permissible, because of the requirement of uniform and exact pitch-distance between "fastener elements Ynecessary to -their proper inter-engagement and free slider movem6111121' :'f" K Y ToAv avoid -the obvious v,drawback of :stretchabilityof aiiastener tape itself ,made of thermoplastic material while rretaining `theproperty. of such a taperofgbeing vheatj-scalable toan article of thermoplastic material, ithasjalso been suggested to incorporate-in the longitudinal rear or articleengaging/zone of `.the tape threadsfor Yyarnsof thermoplastic; material, rsorthat the rearattaching'zone of theftape may-beheat-sealedto the article made of thermoplastic material, while the front or `fastener-element carrying-zone of the tapeismade vvholly'from'threads or filaments of natural fibers, usually' cottony whichV -is nonstretchable. While such a tape has' proved highly effective in practice, it is expensive, thus increasing the overall cost of-y the fastener, 'and it has" been availablev heretofore only in limited supply from those concerns engaged in manufacturing Lfabrics made in partor Whole of special plastics. w

5 Claims. (C1. 154-116) The present invention aims to and provides a different solution of the problem that` has been outlined above, which gives the additional advantage ofv an all-natural-ber (cotton) Woven tape which is both substantially non-stretchable in longitudinal direction and is readily available as to supply, and the further advantage that it does not require special (usually electronic) heatsealing to the articleV as with the prior tape incorporating thermoplastic threads or filaments in its article-attaching zone, but instead may be at- Jcached by any of the conventional means for applying heat and pressure, for example, a flatiron.

Another object of the rinvention is the provision of a fastener tape, and the method of applying it, which is particularlyv adapted to fasteners for so-called novelties, such as handbags, purses, and the like, which are frequently made of very thin sheet plastic material, sometimes of thickness not exceeding .006, to which the proper attachment of fastener tape oifers particulardiflicult-ies. y

Yet another object of Vthe invention is the provision vof a fastener tape for attachment to an article made of thin plasticmaterial which is so Woven that it is inherently more porous in its longitudinal rear or article-attaching Zone than in its opposite or front longitudinal zone mounting. or carrying the fastener elements. Due to this greater porosity of the tapein its rear attachinggone, the thermoplastic material of the article, which, as is Well known, becomes plastic (tacky) under heat, is enabled to penetrate the tape `structure and, more particularly, to flow or be forced into the interstices between the interwoven threads oryarns making up the tape, thus toeifect after the thermoplastic material has been consolidated a strongfand effective bond between the thermoplastic material of the article and the woven Vfabric tape. -This property of the tape to take up in its article-attaching portion a greater amount of thermoplastic material also gives the advantage that the juncture between article Vand tape is not readily discernible upon consolidation of the thermoplastic material'as aforesaid, but, on theother hand, gives the appearance of the article and tape being substantially of continuous or one-piececonstruction.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a novel,- simply' performed, and highly effective vmethod ofattaching fastener tapes to the edges of'openings in articles made of thermoplastic material, i Whichovercomes the drawbacks of -the prior; stitching-mode of attach- 3 ment, as well as the practical limitations inherent in the use of a fastener tape having threads or yarns of thermoplastic material woven into its structure in the article-attaching zone therecf. In the preferred practice of the improved method of the invention, the tape may be even more firmly bonded to the article, or may be securely attached to articles of exceedingly thin thermoplastic material, by interleaving the tape I between the thermoplastic material ofthe article along the edge of its opening and a st rip of the same or similar thermoplastic mat'erlal,

" rendered plastic, in the large interstices between for example, `Vinylite, `and thereupon applying,

heat and pressure by any convenient means V Such as a flat-iron, to the combined layers of article, tape and superimposed plastic strip. With the ysoftened thermoplastic material impregnatingand forcing itself into the tape from both faces of its vlongitudinalrrear zone, it will be appreciated that, upon consolidation of the thermoplastic material, the tape is very effectively ating detailed description thereof, taken with the accompanying drawing illustrating the tape and one method of assembling and attaching the same to an yarticle of thermoplastic materialy in which- Fig. l is a vpartial top plan view, on an enlarged scale, illustrating the improved fastener tape of the invention as applied to a slide fastener tape; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the manner of assembling'the tape on an article of thermoplastic material preparatory to heatsea-ling the same thereto; Y

Fig. 3 is anenlarged section similar to Fig. 2 but illustrating the tape attached and bonded to the article; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan View of a portion of a slide fastener Stringer as finally attached to the article by the practice of the present method.

Referringl to the drawing, reference character it, Fig. l, generally indicates the improved fastener tape of the present invention, illustratively shown in the form of the Stringer tape of a slide fastener or zipper and being accordingly provided along one longitudinal edge with a bead i,

l2, to which fastener elements I4 of the type generally indicated in Figs. 3 and 4 are clamped, for example, by running the tape through a conventionalY s lide fastener assembling machine. The bead l2 Villustrated is of two-part construction and consists of cords 12a, I2b stitchedtor otherwise secured against the upper and under faces ofv the tape to extend longitudinally along said one edge, but the bead may have other appropriate construction. It is to be understood that the illustrated tape (except forI the bead! 2) is applicable for use with separable fasteners generally, including those employing snap and hook-and-eye fastening elements mounted on tapes'. t ,Y 'n

The tape Il) is woven throughout from threads or yarns of natural fibers, usually cotton which is non-stretchable. Accordingly, the tape satisfies the requirement Vof'a slide fastener tape in that, being non-stretchable, the fastener elements vIll carried thereby maintain uniform pitch distance. 'According to the invention, however,

' instead of the tape having the usual close-Weave construction. throughout, the'longitudinal rear or article-attaching zone It" of the 'tape has openthe interwoven warp and weft threads making ,up lthe same.

In attaching attape l0 as aforesaid t0 an article made "of thermoplastic material, the tape is applied to 'theedge 2D (Figs. 2 and 3) 0f the article opening so that its open-Weave rear zone l5 overlies the thermoplasticV material defining said edge, as indicated in Fig. 2. Preferably, an additional thermoplastic strip 22 is applied over the open-weave acne of the tape to extend along the length thereof, vvith the'res'ult that the tape is interleaved or sandwiched between the thermoplastic material of the article and of the applied strip 22. v

Any conventional means for applying heat and pressure, for example, a flat-iron, is now pressed from above against the assembled article', tape and thermoplastic strip, which are of course suitably supported froin below by a bed or table, whereupon the thermoplastic vmaterial of both the article and of the strip is softened and becomes tacky, the applied pressure causing it to iiow intol therelativel'y large interstices of the tape, indicated in Fig'. 3. Y-In effect, the applied thermoplastic strip 22 fuses into the thermoplastic material of the article with the result that, upon consolidation of the material, the tape is firmly bonded tothe article along the edge of its opening. y

For certain applications, the thermoplastic strip 22 may be omitted, in which'case the thermcplastic material 'of the article effectively permeates the attaching zone of the tape Ill. However, when u'sed, the thermoplastic strip is preferably fashioned of 'the same thermoplastic material as that of the article, usually Vinylite.

It will thus be seen that the improved fastener tape of the invention is especially adapted for attachment to articles of thermoplastic material and, when attached according to the aforesaid method, is firmly and rigidly bonded thereto. It is a further feature of the invention that the aforesaid method of attachment results in the article and tape bonding in such manner as to give the appearance of a comparatively continuo`us or one-piece structure,` with the joint between article and tape being hardly, if atV all, discernible. Moreover, the aforesaid method of attachment may be practiced in a simple, convenient manner and without the needof expensive, complicated equipment. Thus, the invention achievesA a quite simple solution of the relatively complex problem of attaching fastener tapes to articles of thermoplasticv material, While at the same time giving the advantage incident to the use of a woven tape made throughout from non-stretchable natural fibers, thus insuring uniform exact pitch distance between the fastener elements, which latter is a strict requirement for separable fasteners of the slider controlled or so-called zipper type.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

l. The method of attaching a fabric fastener tape to the edge of an article made of thermoplastic material, which comprises the steps of providing a tape which is woven throughout from threads or yarns of natural fibers and in such manner that its longitudinal article-engaging zone is more porous than its fastener-carrying zone, and pressing together the more porous zone of the tape and the edge portion of the article of thermoplastic material while simultaneously heating said material.

2. The method of attaching a fabric Afastener tape to an article of thermoplastic material, which comprises the steps of providing a tape woven throughout from threads or yarns of natural fibers and being characterized by large interstitial spaces between the warp and weft threads in the longitudinal article-engaging zone of the tape and by small interstitial spaces between said threads in the adjacent fastenercarrying zone of the tape, applying the articleattaching zone of the tape along lthe edge of the article and in overlying relation with respect thereto, and applying heat and pressure to the tape and material.

3. The method of attaching a fabric fastener tape to an article of thermoplastic material, which comprises providing a tape Woven complete from threads or yarns of natural fibers and characterized in that the longitudinal articleattaching edge of the tape is of open-mesh construction, superimposing the open-mesh portion of the tape on the thermoplastic material of the article and along an edge thereof, and applying heat and pressure to the superimposed tape and article.

4. The method of attaching a fabric fastener tape to the edge of an article made from thermof pressure to the superimposed layers of thermoplastic strip, porous tape portion and thermoplastic article.

5. The method of attaching a fabric fastener tape to an article of thermoplastic material,

which comprises the steps of providing a tape woven throughout of threads or yarns of natural fibers and characterized in that the longitudinal article-engaging zone of the tape is of open-mesh construction, interleaving the articleengaging zone of the tape between an edge of the article and a strip of thermoplastic material, and applying heat and pressure to the superimposed layers of thermoplastic article, tape and thermoplastic strip.

GEORGE WALDES.

mimiRENcns CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,622,250 Moore Mar. 22, 1927 2,114,320 Schneider Apr. 19, 1938 2,333,618 Strauss Nov. 2, 1943 2,341,019 Cook Feb. 8, 1944 2,470,251 Kolbert et al May 17, 1949 

1. THE METHOD OF ATTACHING A FABRIC FASTENER TAPE TO THE EDGE OF AN ARTICLE MADE OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL, WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF PROVIDING A TAPE WHICH IS WOVEN THROUGHOUT FROM THREADS OR YARNS OF NATURAL FIBERS AND IN SUCH MANNER THAT ITS LONGITUDINAL ARTICLE-ENGAGING ZONE IS MORE POROUS THAN ITS FASTENER-CARRYING 